This year felt like it drifted by without much happening, thanks to the coronavirus. Even though I tried to live like a human being, unlike last year when we first faced the pandemic, I still kept physical interactions to a minimum. Shall we dive into my personal rankings of the year? Remember, these are totally subjective…
1. Song of the Year: OH MY GIRL’s ‘Dun Dun Dance’
The song of the year, as Melon stats suggest, was ‘Dun Dun Dance’. I admit, it was my lifeline through the long corona tunnel, almost like the character from ‘I Am Legend’. If you’ve seen their raw energy on TV or YouTube, don’t stop there. Dive deeper, and you’ll find that this song can even help you endure the shock of Omicron. (It took me six months to get over it)
2. Musician of the Year: Rosé
Rosé isn’t just a member of a girl group; she’s a musician with her own unique identity. Her voice is simply amazing, isn’t it? If you listen to her trainee-era tracks, you’ll notice how different her singing style was. That’s proof of her ongoing quest for the golden ratio. Many artists have great voices, but who can top the vibe of Rosé’s ‘Read My Mind’ clip from the ‘Wishful Sea’? 🎤
3. Comeback of the Year: ABBA’s ‘Voyage’
A comeback after 40 years? It’s not just the comeback of the year but perhaps of the century! Their new track, ‘When you dance with me’, takes listeners on a smooth time warp to the cultural renaissance of the 70s. I’m dreaming of catching their avatar concert, ABBA Voyage, in London. Damn you, corona. 🎶
4. Rediscovery of the Year: Bryan Adams’ ‘Cloud Number Nine’
One day, I stumbled upon this track in someone’s curated playlist. ‘Cloud Number Nine’, originally from Bryan Adams’ 8th studio album, ‘On Day Line Today’, is a gem. But I recommend the ‘Chicane Mix’ from his 2005 anthology album—it has an irresistible beat. Listening to it at dawn makes you feel like the master of the world. 🌍
5. Music Show of the Year: Superband 2
This show rekindled dreams of a glorious rock revival post the couch incident. It was a spectacle of high-end super sessions and players. The only downside? Watching it raises your musical standards so high, you can’t enjoy other shows. 🎸 Here’s hoping for a world where talented musicians can thrive solely through music.
6. Drama of the Year: Coupang Play’s ‘One Day’
Until recently, I thought Netflix’s ‘Hellbound’ would top my ranking. But after just one episode of this drama, I changed my mind. These days, maintaining a Rocket Wow membership is worth it just to have mascarpone cheese delivered to your doorstep by dawn and to catch this show. 📺
7. Peculiar Drama of the Year: Jirisan
I watched every episode live but found myself multitasking a lot. Even now, I can’t decide if it was interesting or just meh. It’s the first time I’ve experienced this, so I wanted to jot it down… 🤔
8. Actor of the Year: Hwang Se-on
If ‘One Day’ became my drama of the year because of Hwang Se-on, who only appears in the first episode, would you not trust my ranking? Alright, alright, it wasn’t just that! 🎭
9. Movie of the Year: Soul
Listing the movies I watched in cinemas this year: ‘Soul’, ‘Godzilla VS Kong’, ‘Fast & Furious’, ‘Sinkhole’, ‘007 No Time to Die’, ‘Escape from Mogadishu’, ‘Romance Only Genre’. Was I not concerned for my life? Well, I did catch them during quiet weekend mornings… ‘Soul’ stood out as it conveyed a thoughtful message about the ‘purpose of life’, nudging me to reflect on how I should live. 🎬
10. Book of the Year: Kim Cho-yeop’s ‘If We Cannot Move at the Speed of Light’
Reflecting on how little I read this year, I’d recommend Kim Cho-yeop’s short story collection, ‘If We Cannot Move at the Speed of Light’, heavily influenced by Ted Chiang. I did consider Moju Julian’s ‘Perfect Child’, but… 📚
11. Reality Show Villain of the Year: ‘I Am SOLO’ Season 4, Young-chul
Thanks to some friends, I stumbled upon this dating show, but couldn’t finish it because of one contestant. If he were nearby, I’d be tempted to give him a side kick—but he’s ex-special forces, so not a chance. 🥋
12. KakaoTalk Emoticon of the Year: Today’s Meme #DailyLife (What kind of name is that?)
This one in particular (not an ad)
13. Event of the Year: MS Windows 11 Free Upgrade
Every time there’s a Windows upgrade, I am reminded of how generous Microsoft is. I remember when Windows 10 upgraded even illegal copies to genuine ones. They’ll never go under with the Office cloud transition. 💻
14. Product of the Year: Synology NAS
For those unfamiliar, it’s a network file storage device, but the new models can even run Docker! That’s it. 📦
15. Scam Marketing Term of the Year: Metaverse
It’s a bit awkward to even call it a tech term. It’s like an empty shell that disrupts industries, much like Big Data and Agile before it. Sure, there’s some substance, but vendors waving the title around without real content is just annoying. 🌌
16. Marketing Term of the Year: Growth Hacking
Not a new term this year, but a must-know for those creating new value. If you’re looking to achieve the most with minimal cost, I recommend Ryan Holiday’s book on the topic. (It’s super short) 📈
17. Technology of the Year: NFT
Even though the blockchain consortium R3 has been around for 8 years, there haven’t been many significant breakthroughs. NFT might be the first valuable topic to discuss using this framework. 🔗
18. Game of the Year: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
The narrative and story weaving between the apocalypse and modern times are phenomenal, with stunning illustrations supporting it. I’m not usually a fan of multi-protagonist content, but this game left a lasting impression. (Still haven’t finished it) 🎮
19. Social Media Use of the Year: Karrot Market
Hearing that a friend hired someone from Karrot Market to catch a cockroach at home left me stunned. Eek! 🐞
20. ‘I Love You’ of the Year: Heize’s Killing Verse Clip
Heize, in her YouTube Killing Verse clip, was singing her hits when she suddenly said that love should be expressed in words, throwing out an unexpected ‘I love you’. (Remember when Kim Go-eun did the same in ‘Goblin’ in 2016? Ah, memories…) 💕
21. YouTuber of the Year: Moonlight Couple
This YouTuber creates chronicle videos of famous actors, and the content is so rich that you lose track of time even if the clips are long. At the end, they always quietly ask for likes and subscriptions, saying how tough the video production was. It’s both touching and hilarious. 🎥
22. COVID Variant of the Year: Omicron
Damn it.
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